Beer Die: Official Rules

Toss the die so it lands on the table and falls off the other end without being caught. Score seven points, winning by two.

A table about 8 feet long and 4 feet wide, waist high. Two teams of two stand at opposite ends, one player at each corner. Each player sets a full cup of beer on the table in front of them, about 8 inches in from the end and 5 inches in from the side.

A full cup is five drinks. The Commission calls this five to a boat.

Rule 1. The toss

Rule 1.1. Teams alternate tosses; teammates alternate within a team. A toss out of turn doesn't count, and the team loses its next toss.

Rule 1.2. Before tossing, the thrower taps the die on the table.

Rule 1.3. The die must rise higher than the head of the tallest player at the table. A toss that doesn't is not a toss. A toss that hits the ceiling is a drink.

Rule 2. Scoring

Rule 2.1. A point is scored when the die hits the table and then falls off the defending team's end or sides without being caught.

Rule 2.2. After the die hits the table, the defending team may catch it with one hand before it touches the floor or anything else. A die trapped against the body, or caught with two hands, is not caught. A caught die scores nothing.

Rule 2.3. Defenders may not reach over the table to catch.

Rule 2.4. A die that stays on the table is dead. No point. The thrower drinks.

Rule 3. Cups

Rule 3.1. A die that hits a cup and stays out is a plink. The play is dead, and the player whose cup was hit drinks.

Rule 3.2. A die that lands in a cup is a plunk. The tossing team scores a point. The player whose cup it landed in finishes their cup, and the tossing team may sign the table.

Rule 4. The fives rule

Rule 4.1. No one at the table may say "five" or "seven." Say "bizz" for five and "buzz" for seven. A player who says either number drinks.

Rule 5. Drinks and winning

Rule 5.1. A drink in Beer Die is one fifth of a full cup. A player drinks for: a toss that misses the table, a die that stays on the table, a toss that hits the ceiling, a plink against their cup, and saying "five" or "seven."

Rule 5.2. A player who empties their cup refills it.

Rule 5.3. The first team to seven points, winning by two, wins. The losing team finishes their cups.

Snappa. Beer Die, seated, with a chair at each corner. Many Snappa tables also score a die that comes to rest on the table showing a five. See the ruling in Part 6.

• Play to eleven, win by two. Approved.
• Self-sink. A thrower whose die lands in their own cup loses the game immediately. Approved. The Commission does not know how this keeps happening.
• Left hand only for drinks. Approved.
• No height rule; any toss counts. Prohibited. That isn't Beer Die. It's dropping a die.
• Defenders may catch with two hands. Commissioner's Discretion.

Can a defender catch the die off a bounce from their teammate's hand? Yes. Juggling is permitted, provided the die never touches anything but defenders' hands after it hits the table, and the final catch is one-handed.

The die plinks off a cup and falls off the end. Point? No. A plink is dead.

Is "fifty" a violation of the fives rule? No. "Five" alone is the violation. The Commission notes that players who say "fifty" are usually trying to get close.

• Plunk. Signal: the Official drops a closed fist into an open palm.
• Plink. Signal: the Official flicks one finger against an open palm.
• Saying "five" or "seven." Penalty: one drink. Signal: the Official holds up five fingers and shakes their head.
• Toss out of turn. Penalty: the toss doesn't count; lose the next toss. Signal: loss of turn (Provision 7.1).

Beer Die is a game of regional tradition, and its rules vary from campus to campus, often within the same campus. It is also played seated, as Snappa, and the two names are a reliable way to start an argument in the Northeast. The Commission has declined to rule on which came first.

Fill the cups with any non-alcoholic drink. The fives rule applies regardless.